When veteran Tom Brady and the New England Patriots visit Andrew Luck and the rising Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, any passing-of-the-torch descriptions of the two quarterbacks should be ignored.
It appears that, in the eyes of Brady at least, the torch has already been passed.
Brady has a few Super Bowl rings and has been one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL for the past decade.
After just three years in the league, though, Luck is putting up some staggering numbers.
The Colts (6-3) are averaging a league-best 32.2 points per game and Luck has thrown for 3,085 yards through nine games. That puts Luck on pace to finish the season with 5,484 passing yards, which would break Peyton Manning’s year-old record of 5,477 yards in a season.
These are numbers Brady and the Patriots (7-2) cannot ignore.
This week, Brady heaped praise on the young Colts quarterback, which is not unusual, and he was effusive in that praise, suggesting to ESPNBoston.com the younger man is the better player.
Luck, he said, “is a great player, in his third year, and he’s had a lot of success ... Their offence is doing a great job this year. They score a lot of points, especially at home. He’s kind of the ringleader. He does a lot of things I wish I could do.”
Asked to elaborate, Brady, 37, made it clear the respect he had for his counterpart, who is 25.
“He’s big, fast, shrugs off blockers. He makes a lot of extended plays,” Brady said. “He’s a great passer. I think they’ve thrown for more yards at this point in the year than any other team in history. It speaks to what they’re doing offensively and it’s a great challenge for our defence.
“My focus is on the other side of the ball, but you also know you’re not going to be able to score 13 points and win the game.”
The good news is that the Patriots are averaging 40.2 points per game during their current five-game win streak, so getting past 13 should not be a problem.
Getting on the scoreboard early will be key as Indianapolis have given up an NFL-low 13 points in the first quarter this season, and that has helped them take leads.
If Brady can strike quickly and the New England defence can, somehow, contain the Colts’ aerial attack – Luck threw the ball 46 times during their 40-24 win over the New York Giants last week – then the Patriots have a good chance.
The proverbial torch may have been passed to a younger generation but, with a win tonight, Brady can again prove his fire is far from extinguished.
agray@thenational.ae
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